December Praise & Prayer

It is safe to say that November flew by, with the wedding, honeymoon, and Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for! Here is our December Praise & Prayer...

Praises
(1)For an amazing honeymoon in Hawaii, and for the financial gifts that made it possible!
(2)For the provision of our home (which is next door to the church)!
(3)For a great start to our Wednesday night Praise & Prayer service at church!
(4)For a successful surgery for my brother-in-law Ray. He had a tumor removed from his ear canal!
(5)For community and mentors here in Richmond!
(6)For working out the final details I needed to begin volunteering at Richmond HS!

Prayer Requests
Please pray with us...
(1)That our love for God and for our neighbors would grow.
(2)That God might direct us to and provide housing that we (the church) could use for transitional and discipleship housing for men and women.
(3)That the Lord would direct us as we consider becoming a satellite location for World Impact's "TUMI" (The Urban Ministry Institute www.tumi.org). This would give us the opportunity to offer seminary level coursework/training to men and women in Richmond and the East Bay at an affordable rate.
(4)For direction as we prayerfully consider (and move towards) partnerships with local school(s), the Boys & Girls Club, and other non-profit/social service agencies here in Richmond.
(5)That our church would leverage the ministries of Safe Families and Youshare in a way that would bless our city and the Bay area, and would mobilize churches.
(6)We own a condo in Branson, Missouri (where Josie lived before we got married). Please pray with us that we would find a renter soon!

*Let me know how we can be praying for you! Email me at pastordave@lhnchurch.org
**Also, don't forget about our podcast on I-tunes under "Living Hope Neighborhood Church"!

Thankful

It is Thanksgiving Eve and Josie and I just had coffee and cereal together and are now cleaning our house (all of that still seems crazy to write and say!). I was struck with all that I have to be thankful for!

I am thankful for my relationship with God through Jesus! His grace in my life is humbling! As a kid growing up the Lord began planting Gospel seeds in my life through my parents, key Sunday school teachers and AWANA leaders, and other Christians who we did life with. Then my freshman year of college, during the fall of 1996, the Lord brought me to a place of full surrender to Him. He then surrounded me with men to disciple me, Christian peers to walk it out with, and numerous godly examples. God then began to show me, over time, how the way He had wired me was according to His purpose, and that He had work for me to do. Ephesians chapter two, verses eight through 10, says it best! I am amazed at the LORD's faithfulness, His steadfast love, and His never ending grace and mercy (Lamentations 3:22-23).

I am thankful for my wife! Proverbs 18:22 says, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD." That is exactly what has happened. God graciously directed me to my "good thing." He did it. If you want to read our story/testimony of how He brought us together, you can read it here. We have now been married for 18 days, and I still can't believe what the LORD has done.

I am thankful for my church where I serve as an under shepherd! Every time someone refers to me as "Pastor Dave" I am reminded of God's grace and am humbled that He is using me. God is doing some amazing things at our church! Yesterday's marriage was just one example, of how God is redeeming people and restoring lives and families. Our church is a beautiful picture of Christ's diverse bride. We come from different ethnic backgrounds and different socio-economic backgrounds to find family together underneath the banner of Christ. I am so thankful for how God used my neighborhood and community in Chicago to shape me, and is now doing the same thing here in Richmond.

I am thankful for all of the family and friends and supporters that Josie and I have. It was an amazing thing at our wedding to walk out and see such amazing support and love! We have "family" (some biological) all over the country, and in other parts of the world! This loving community is just another evidence of God's grace.

I am thankful for the legacy of faith in Christ that has been passed down from our parents - James & Gwendetta Albright and Dave & Coleen Clark. I am thankful for their faithful support, love, encouragement, and wisdom.

Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!

3 Blog Entries Worth Reading

Although, I have a few different blogs "in the hopper" that I plan to write soon, today I want to direct your attention to other blog entries that I think are definitely worth checking out.

(1) Today we had the opportunity to witness the marriage ceremony of a couple from our church. The three of us pastors took them to the county clerk to get legally married, with plans to have a church ceremony in the near future. God is doing an amazing work in the lives of Kevin and Karen Saechao. My good friend and co-laborer Curtis Zackery blogs about it here.

(2) As many of you know I serve on the board of a ministry in southern Africa called Africa Revolution. My good friend, Allan Greig, is the founder and executive director of this ministry. He and his wife recently spent 3 months in Swaziland serving the local church there, and pouring their lives into a team of vision year interns. As Allan prepares to return to the states, he had these challenging and thought provoking thoughts to share on his blog entry entitled "Plugging Back Into The Matrix."

(3) I recently began listening to the podcast of Pastor Bryan Loritts, and then shortly thereafter began following him on twitter. He pastors a multi-ethnic church in Memphis, TN. He recently shared his "Top 10 Books On Multi-Ethnic Ministry." I have read a handful of these, but was definitely encouraged to check out some of the others. You can see his list here.

November Praises & Prayer

It is safe to say that the month of October flew by! It was a busy month of ministry, and of preparing for our wedding! This last week or so especially has been a whirlwind. I have woken up the last few mornings just in awe of God's faithfulness and goodness and grace. I have been struck afresh with the amazing truth that God is my Father, and loves me as His son! I am so humbled as I reflect on all of the ways the LORD has answered prayers in this unique season of my life, and our lives (I'm married now!!). Here are our praises and prayer requests, as we head into the month of November...

Praises

1)This past Saturday we got married in Chicago!!!!! I still cannot believe it! (Our web site, www.davidandjosie.com tells our story. God's grace is so evident in everything!)

2)For all of the friends and family who have shown us so much love and encouragement as we celebrated our marriage, and as we move into this next season of life together!

3)We both prayed that Christ would be lifted high in our wedding ceremony, and we feel that He honored our prayers on our wedding day!

4)For God's continued provision for our financial support needs! We have such faithful and generous supporters!

5)We have begun two small groups for married couples at our church, and are studying "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas! We are so blessed to be able to be in community with these other couples!

6)For the opportunity to disciple my brother Nick here in Richmond!

7)For key relationships and opportunities to serve at Richmond High School!


Prayer Requests

1)That Jesus would be our first love, and the foundation of our marriage!

2)For safe travels and and a great time on our honeymoon in Hawaii! We will be gone November 11th through November 18th. (We are also so thankful for the financial assistance that made this trip possible!!!)

3)Every Wednesday we fast and pray as a pastoral team for the needs of our church and our city. Would you pray with us and for us on Wednesdays?

4)This month we will be starting a Wednesday night Praise & Prayer service from 6-7:30pm! Pray that God would give us a passion to seek Him on behalf of our church, our city, and the nations! Pray that God would teach us how to pray as a church! We are excited to see how He will answer prayer!

5)Pray that the Lord would direct us as we consider becoming a satellite location for World Impact's "TUMI" (The Urban Ministry Institute). This would give us the opportunity to offer seminary level coursework/training to men and women in Richmond and the East Bay at an affordable rate.

6)That we would be a church centered on and passionate about the Gospel and making disciples of all nations!

*As always, please let us know how we can be praying for you! Email me at pastordave@lhnchurch.org

Podcast
We, now have a podcast! You can subscribe on I-Tunes, and listen to our messages each week. You can search "Living Hope Neighborhood Church on I-Tunes.
If you don't do the I-Tunes thing, you can also listen to the messages on our web site, www.lhnchurch.org

1 John 3:1 = See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God...